M.B.: That’s not totally true. People tend to believe we were completely unknown until "Get It On". That's not true, in England at least. We have had a faithful and rather significant following for a long time. Since the beginning of Tyrannosaurus Rex to tell the truth.

R & F: Nothing near today's following, anyway.

M.B.: No, of course not, but I do want to say that T Rex does not come from nowhere, we have existed for a long time.

R & F: You were playing the English clubs?

M.B.: No, we never did, even at the very beginning, always dedicated stages, generally large. Our very first concert, we played the Albert Hall, opening for Donovan, in front of six thousand people.

R & F: But today you are the headliners...

M.B.: Yes. And we need large venues to host all these people; Actually there are not many, especially in England and on the Continent, and touring brings more and more problems.

M.B.: Oh, you know, our audiences are very young and... enthusiastic. They like to express themselves and it is sometimes difficult to avoid incidents. There's little doubt we will soon stop playing in public, in England at least, due to security concerns.

R & F: Can you still live normally? Can you walk?

M.B.: No, definitely not. The things have reached the point that I have to hide. If I go shopping, someone always spots me, then two, then three and soon there’s a crowd around me. The other day I tried shopping, for the first time in ages. They had to call the police to come get me released.

R & F: It must be tedious...

M.B.: I would not say that but it causes problem insofar as I love speaking to people, in the street as well, but this is becoming completely impossible.

photo : Jean-Pierre Leloir (double page)

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